Just another delay on the CTA....

*Ding! Ding!*
We are experiencing a delay
and we regret the inconvenience.
We expect to be moving shortly.

Well, I expect to be moving right now. That's why I take the train and not the Kennedy. That, and parking every day would bankrupt me inside of a month. Even with a discount.

Time passes.

*Ding! Ding!*
We are experiencing a delay
and we regret the inconvenience.
We expect to be moving shortly.

A delay? Is that what you call it? If it lasts much longer it will amount to a wildcat strike. Does the CTA know what my desk looks like?

More time passes.

*Ding! Ding!*
We are experiencing a delay
and we regret the inconvenience.
We expect to be moving shortly.

This time, the motorman breaks in to announce that there is a sick passenger on a train ahead and they are waiting for paramedics to arrive. At least there's a reason for all this inactivity. I'm sure I'm not the only one on the car who hopes that it's not too serious for the poor passenger.

I wish they would get Internet service in the subway like they keep promising. I could at least look at my Twitter feed while we wait.

I know, I know. There was a time when I could read a newspaper in the subway. They used to sell newspapers at the train stations once upon a time. And no one ever swiped those. (Occasionally, someone might ask to borrow the sports page if you were through with it....)

*Ding! Ding!*
We are experiencing a delay
and we regret the inconvenience.
We expect to be moving shortly.

At this point, haven't the least perceptive among us noticed that we haven't been moving for some time now? Are the chimes really necessary at this point?

The motorman (motorperson is really too cumbersome, even if this motorman is a woman) chimes in again: Paramedics have arrived and the stricken passenger is being removed. We will be moving again just as soon as the trains in front of us start moving.

That's a relief. We don't want to start moving before the trains in front of us. That could create even more work for the paramedics.

Back to Solitaire. Scoff if you must. The woman sitting next to me is playing Candy Crush.

*Ding! Ding!*
We are experiencing a delay
and we regret the inconvenience.
We expect to be moving shortly.

Moments later, the train starts moving! Predict the same thing often enough, eventually you'll get it right.